The Pennsylvania native and University of Oklahoma alum hooked up with Run Hub Northwest days after moving to Oregon, and his first race for the outlet put him on the map in the Northwest running scene.

“I was brand new to town, and Dustin (Pearce) just tossed me a singlet,” Clement said of the Run Hub Northwest co-owner. “That was huge because it showed me like, ‘Hey, you’re welcome here, come join our running community.’”

A few minutes behind Clement were two fellow runners from Run Hub Northwest, Jenn Randall and Melissa Todd, who finished as the top two women in the 10K in 36:16 and 38:19, respectively.

It was the first time at the Butte to Butte for both runners, neither of whom expected to finish as well as they did.

“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” said Todd, a sports psychologist who ran for Mizuno from 2009 to 2012. “I told myself I would never run more than a 5K again after I quit running professionally in 2012, so I really didn’t have any expectations — I was just hoping to finish the race.”

Randall, who works as a physical therapist at Staszak PT and Wellness Center in Eugene, had heard tall tales about the Butte to Butte course, but thought it would be better to find out what the fuss was about for herself.

“I didn’t check out the course before today, but I have always heard about the big hill near the start,” said Randall, who moved to Eugene about a year and a half ago. “I thought maybe it wouldn’t be as bad if I didn’t know how big it was, so I was just sort of winging it. It was definitely tough, but I think I had it built up as being way worse than it was.”

Craig Leon, a recognizable face in Eugene was the second male finisher in the 10K at 31:11. Leon won the Butte to Butte on the old course in 2012 and 2013, with times of 31:19 and 31:45, respectively, as well as the Eugene Marathon in 2015 with a time of 2:21.33.

“I’m very happy with my time given the fact that I’ve only done probably one or two workouts over the last few months,” Leon said. “This was a great indication of where I’m at physically right now and it gives me something to build on.”

The camaraderie in the running community was a strong factor in several of the top finishers’ decisions to move to Eugene. The new course for the 10K, which was introduced in 2016 and takes runners through the neighborhoods of South Eugene, had a large part in creating that.

“The atmosphere around here is awesome — it definitely lived up to the hype,” Randall said. “The race, with people cheering along the way almost felt parade-like, and you don’t really get that everywhere. It was really special.”

Added Leon: “I like going through the neighborhoods, I think it incorporates the community and gets people to come out of their houses. People don’t have to come to the race, you can bring the race to the people.”

Relationships also drove several runners to compete in the Butte to Butte, with family and friends cheering the whole way. Randall, who is coaching a youth team called the Amazon Distance Project, brought out several of her runners to run the 10K behind her.

“We just wanted to share our passion for running with the kids,” Randall said. “I was very excited to go out and have a good time and see the kids enjoying themselves as well.”

For Clement, this Independence Day victory will be remembered as a mile-marker in his professional running career.

“This is one of the best places to race in the country,” Clement said. “To see so many people support the runners and compete at a high level — it reassures me that I made the right choice in moving here.”

“This is one of the best places to race in the country. To see so many people support the runners and compete at a high level — it reassures me that I made the right choice in moving here.”